Biotechnology and its Applications MCQs for NEET — Zoology Questions with Answers

(a) Escherichia coli and Agrobacterium tumefaciens are the microbes found to be very useful in genetic engineering. E.coli is a motile, gram negative, rod shaped bacterium which is a normal inhabitant of human colon. It is most extensively used in bacterial genetics and molecular biology. Agrobacterium tumefaciens is a soil bacterium. It has Ti plasmid (Tumour inducing plasmid) and it can be used for the transfer of a desired gene in dicot plants.

Restriction endonuclease is a type of enzyme that can cleave molecules of DNA at a particular site

called Restriction site having polindromic sequence. These enzymes are produced by many bacteria

and protect the cell by cleaving and destroying the DNA of invading viruses. Now a days, restriction

enzymes are widely used in the techniques of genetic engineering.

(b) Plastids are semiautonomous cell organelles. They take part in storage and synthesis of organic compounds. Mitochondria are called the power houses of the cell as they are the centres of Kreb's cycle of respiration liberating the maximum amount of energy. Ribosomes are submicroscopic cell organelles manufacturing protein.

Plasmids are defined as autonomous elements, whose genomes exist in the cell as the extrachromosomal unit. These are the chromosomal elements found in bacteria. Plasmids are used as cloning vectors due to their increased yield potential.

(d) Technique of manipulating prokaryotic as well as eukaryotic DNA has witnessed a remarkable development. This has allowed breaking of a DNA molecule at two desired places to isolate a specific DNA segment and then its insertion in another DNA molecule at a desired position. The product thus obtained is called / DNA and the technique as genetic engineering.

(a) Restriction enzymes are endonucleases which cleave DNA at specific sites. They are originally extracted from the bacterium E.Coli. Type I restriction enzymes binds to a recognition site of a duplex DNA and cleave one strand only. Type II restriction enzymes are more valuable in gene manipulation and cleave the duplex at specific target sites at or near the binding site.

(d) T, plasmid is found extragenomically in Agarobacterium tumefaciens which possess T-DNA that is responsible for causing tumour in host plant.

(c) Electroporation is the process used for ihc transformation of bacteria or plant protoplasts. Electroporation occurs as a result of the reconcentration of lipid molecules of the bilayer membrane to form hydrophilic pores in the membrane. The distribution of such pores, both in terms of size and number, determine the electrical properties of the cell membrane.

(b)  Reverse transcriptase is an enzyme used by retroviruses to from complementary DNA (cDNA) from their RNA. The resulting DNA is then inserted into the chromosome of the host cell.

(b) Processes of recombinant DNA technology involves isolation of DNA of desired DNA fragment. In order to cut the DNA with restriction enzymes, it needs to be in its pure form, free from other macro molecules. The DNA is enclosed within the membranes, we have to break the cell open to release DNA along with other macromolecules such as RNA, proteins, polysaccharides and also lipids. This can be achieved by treating the bacterial cells/plant or animal tissue with enzymes such as lysozyme (bacteria), cellulase (plant cells), chitinase (fungus). The RNA can be removed by treatement with ribonulease whereas proteins can be removed by treatment with protease.